Lindsay's MOM-Hacks

So, I’m going to share Mom-Hacks & I have this feeling that some will be like, “Why is she sharing MOM-Hacks?!  She’s a baby when it comes to motherhood.”  Yeah…maybe, but I learned all these hacks from mamas interested in helping other mamas, so I just want to pass on the love.

I’m only a six-year-old mom, so I have lots of learning to do, but for now…here’s some of the stuff that makes our FAM of 5 WAY more cohesive/steam lined/present/all the good stuff.  I’m willing to admit that some of these items are silly OR stage-of-life appropriate.  Others you’ll read and wonder if I’ve been living in a whole for 6+ years.  Humor me…give me the benefit of the doubt…then tell me I’m beautiful & smart and click on a different post when I’m not looking.  Ok?  Thanks... Here we go.

ONE | SodaStream

*OMG she bought one of those?!*

Yes!  Here’s my story…I went on a trip to Vancouver in November to visit my long-time friend, Tricia.  She had one of these & I COMPLETELY questioned her motives.  But, then she showed it to me & used it every day to take a bottle of water to work with her….I became a convert.  I guess I was under the impression that you had to ONLY buy the Soda Stream flavors, but you don’t.  We get the water flavor squirt bottles at Aldi (Shout out to my Aldi shoppers!) & it’s awesome!  La Croix/Prerrier/Bubly drinkers, I recommend you give this a whirl & your pocket books a break!  The only costs are the CO2 tank (which I’ve replaced once since early December) & the flavorings.

P.S. My girls LOVE making their own!  And they create flavors with the squirt bottles….loved by all for sure!

TWO | Echo Dots

I promise, Amazon did not ask me to write this, ALTHOUGH I affiliate with Amazon, so see the banner under this sections... I know that there are other products that do the same thing, but I really LOVE our echo dots.  ALSO, we only have the little dots, not the towers or anything fancy.  We have 4…I got a STELLAR deal at Thanksgiving for 3 & the 4th I got from my BIL when he converted to Google Home.  Here is a BEAUTIFULLY bulleted list of WHY I love them:

• Home intercom: They’re located in the kitchen, living room, our bedroom & the big girls’ bedroom. I can “drop-in” to their dot and talk with them. Now, whether or no they respond….

• Alarms & Reminders: Just one example- the girls have an alarm in their room that goes off at 6:30a…they get up & dressed, come down and eat breakfast. THEN at 7:15a, a reminder goes off in the kitchen and the living room that says, “Here’s your reminder… HURRY! It’s time to catch the bus!” LOVE IT! You can obviously do lots more alarms & what not, but Echo telling them to do something takes LOTS of pressure off of me & ALOT less YELLING in the morning!

• Music: You can do a FULL HOUSE dance party & play the same music in all the rooms, OR at night the girls play lullabies to go to bed.

• Audio Books: It reads me my Audible books… I “read” books again! *sigh….wonderful!*

• Timers: Timers while I’m cooking. Like multiple timers going at once.

• Shopping List/Any list: I have a running shopping list… “Echo, add avocados to my shopping list.” Also, "Echo, add fix the curtains to my DIY List."

• Amazon Notifications: She notifies me when my Amazon orders arrive!

• BONUS! Joanna runs around the hosue yelling, ECHO!!! (So cute… I’ll try to catch it & post it on IG!)

OK I need to stop there, because I still have TONS more to talk about!

THREE | Online Ordering

*Gosh, what a hypocrite!  She’s a small business & an online shopper...*

Hear me out…LOTS of my online shopping is with small businesses online.  AND if I have the choice to buy something through the BIG GUY or a Small Biz, 9 out of 10, I’m supporting the Small Biz.  ALSO, If you are a small business, and you’re not online, chances are, you won’t be around too much longer…sadly, that’s kind of where we’re at in society.  BUT, alls to say, my time is valuable, so if there's something that I can delegate to online shopping to save me time AND money (which in many case equal the same thing) I'm soooo there!

So, I’m going to shamelessly list everything I shop online with referral links, so that, should you decide to jump on the ONLINE Shopping bandwagon, we BOTH get perks out of it…. you get a 1st Time Buyer's discount/cashback & I get a referral discount!  Win/Win!

- Walmart Groceries  :: The first time I filled my car with groceries w/o taking 1 kid out…I almost cried. (No referral link, but email me with name & email and we both get $10 off our order!) 

- Amazon Prime :: For anything that I need in a bind OR anything I can't find anywhere else.  AGAIN... they didn't pay me write this post, but they advertise on the page...see the banner on the right.

- Grove Collective :: All my cleaning supplies/laundry detergent & some basic health & beauty supplies.  Just recently, I’ve gone a little GREENER & more natural with our cleaning supplies b/c of some research, so this seemed like a GOOD streamlined, natural selection… AND I dig their style.  (1st time buyers get a FREE 5-pc gift set & I get $10 off!)

- Stitch Fix :: Take 3 kiddos in a dressing room sometime & tell me how that goes!    AND now that we declutter ALL our clothing I can REALLY see the value of GOOD QUALITY clothing vs cheap clothing; most noticeably in our farm gear & clothing.  Granted, I’m not going to wear many of my Stitch Fix clothing  when I’m working, but hopefully, you get what I’m saying… (Referral code: we both get $25 credit!)

NOW, because I online shop, I use Ebates for CASH BACK on 90% of my online shopping.  Ebates doesn't really require you to do ANYTHING besides download the widget into your browser & activate the discounts as Ebates finds them per the sites you shop.   I've made just shy of $150 without thinking about it so far!  (Referral bonus: You get $10 cash back after your first $25 purchase *super easy if you start with Walmart Groceries* & I get a $25 referral bonus!)

My Direct Sales Mamas that I LOVE supporting ::

Norwex – Megan K.; DoTerra Essential Oils – Kelsey King; Noonday Collections – Jessica Hendrichs; Chloe & Isabel – Emily Kemp; Mary Kay – I know a girl *wink*

I know I’m missing some, so I’ll edit when I remember!

ONLINE is the BOMB…DOT COM!  (ALL the puns in the world intended!)

FOUR | Afternoon & Evening Showers

I love the idea of getting up & showering to feel refreshed & wake up…ahhhhh…. It sounds so GREAT just typing it, but that just isn’t possible for me in this season.  AND when it didn’t happen, I felt so defeated & gross the rest of the day.  Once I allowed myself (which is kind of silly of me) to shower during afternoon naps or after the kiddos went to bed, MAN, GAME CHANGER!  Something so simple made such a difference.

FIVE | Dishes Routine

I OWE ALL OF THIS to Allie Casazza.  Well, I mean, I take all the grunt work cred, but she gave me the ideas to make the change.  With a major overhaul on all our dishes (my Decluttering Saga), this chore is a fraction of what it was before.  When everyone only has 1 cup all day, our meal dishes, and my morning coffee cup & evening tea cup, I fill the dishwasher after dinner and run it.  Then, in the AM, while I’m waiting for my coffee to brew, I unload & we start again.  (In the summer time, this is one of the kiddo’s chores!)  I think I allowed it to cause me a TON of stress also, and once I changed that mindset, It grew to be not that big of deal.

SIX | Laundry

Again…kudos to Allie C-wizzle!  “I load a day keeps the MOUNTAIN away!”  These are our basket… Whatever is fullest, gets washed.  I try to get it done in the morning.  BUT in order for it to count, it has to be dried, folded and put away.  Sounds like a lot, but it’s one load.  If I’m home & have more time to do more, then I pick a bed & wash it or get the blankets we use in the living room or curtains or ANYTHING… AGAIN… a shift in the mindset.  I was LETTING it stress me out.  *Get away from me SATAN!* <- slightly humorous, but slightly serious!

SEVEN | A Hook on our High Chair

This started out as being the bib hooks.  We only had a few bibs, so they just stayed there.  When they were dirty, they’d go in the laundry and then make there way back.  Now, it’s become Jo’s bag & coat hook.  We always know where her stuff is, & it’s right where we need it to refill before we head out the door.

EIGHT | The Control Station

There are SOOO many amazing designs of Family Control Centers on Pinterest, but this has been the ANSWER to what keeps our papers under control…. THERE’S SOOOOO MANY PAPERS!  When Ruthie & Tessa empty their book bags, all the papers go here.  Then, at the end of the month, they go through their box with the rule that they only get to keep 5 items.  Now, this includes the 5 items from the previous month.  So, if the previous items make the cut, great, but ALL but the 5 must go.  Then, at the end of the year, the 5 things that are left, go into the girls’ yearbook.  (Now, I will pull out things that I absolutely love, but most times, you’re fighting back an eye roll when you see what they want to keep.)

If I figure out some more, I’ll do another post.  BUT I’m ALWAYS game for learning what works for other mamas.    SO PLEASE HELP A MAMA OUT!  Leave your MOM-Hacks in the comments!  Let’s work TOGETHER & lift each other up and not keep secrets.  #powertothemamas